Rolled taped bags

ABSTRACT

A roll of bags includes a spool; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool. A roil of bags includes a container having a curved bottom portion; and a chain of imbricated taped bags disposed on the curved bottom portion of the container. A roll of bags includes a spool having a first and second end; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool, the chain of bags having first and second lateral sides, wherein the chain of bags includes a pair of tapes, and an adhesive, such that each bag is adhesively but releasably attached to the pair of tapes. A method of packaging a chain of imbricated taped bags includes providing a spool; and winding the chain of imbricated taped bags on the spool.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to rolled, taped bags, especiallyplastic bags.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many packaging applications, especially food packaging, requireor benefit from the use of bags made from various thermoplasticmaterials and structures. Examples of commercial bags include heatshrinkable bags supplied by Cryovac, Inc., including for example bagssold under the sales codes L 340 and B 620.

[0003] These bags are commonly used in large scale meat processingand/or packaging systems where production speed and efficiency areimportant. Bags to be used in these systems are often themselves packedin boxes in a festooned or serpentine manner, the individual bags tapedtogether so that they will feed in a predictable and efficient manner toan article loading station. Typical of such technology is U.S. Pat. No.3,161,347 (Hannon), disclosing a tape to which bags are attached, andU.S. Pat. No. 3,587,843 (Wing), disclosing two tapes to which areattached imbricated (i.e. shingled) bags.

[0004] Although this practice has been highly successful, one downsideis the tendency for sharp creasing sometimes experienced in boxed tapedbags. Creasing can interfere with bag opening when inflation is used toopen the bag for product insertion. Creasing can also cause difficultywhen the bags are used in a convoluted film path, e.g. in automaticloading machines.

[0005] Another disadvantage, experienced not by the food processor butby the bag manufacturer, is the need to “festoon” the taped bags insidea box, that is, laying the taped bags into a box in a serpentinefashion.

[0006] The present invention is directed to an apparatus and methodwhereby taped bags, i.e. an imbricated bag chain connected with adhesivetape, are wound onto a spool for shipment and subsequent dispensing atend use. Use of a spool with adequate core diameter eliminates the sharpradius creases which result from serpentining the bag chain into a box.

[0007] Rolled taped bags also offer better shipping density, so thatmore bags can be carried on a roll than in a conventional box. This inturn saves on change-over time at a customer facility, i.e. when one boxof bags is depleted and another box is opened to supply additional bags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In one aspect, a roll of bags comprises a spool; and a chain ofimbricated taped bags mounted on the spool

[0009] In a second aspect, a roll of bags comprises a container having acurved bottom portion; and a chain of imbricated taped bags disposed onthe curved bottom portion of the container.

[0010] In a third aspect, a roll of bags comprises a spool having afirst and second end; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted onthe spool, the chain of bags having first and second lateral sides,wherein the chain of bags includes a pair of tapes, and an adhesive,such that each bag is adhesively but releasably attached to the pair oftapes.

[0011] In a fourth aspect, a method of packaging a chain of imbricatedtaped bags comprises providing a spool; and winding the chain ofimbricated taped bags on the spool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Further details are given below with reference to the drawingswherein, in accordance with various embodiments of the invention:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chain of imbricated taped bagsmounted on a roll;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chain of imbricated taped bagsmounted on a roll, and including a take-up cassette;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a top view of a container for holding a rolled chain ofimbricated taped bags;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a cut-away side view of an alternative embodiment of theinvention; and

[0017]FIG. 5 is a cut-away side view of FIG. 3, as viewed along line 5-5of FIG. 3.

DEFINITIONS

[0018] The term “spool” herein refers to any elongate shaft, spool,core, rod, or the like, of any suitable material and cross sectionalshape, which functions to support a rolled chain of imbricated tapedbags wrapped around the spool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019]FIG. 1 discloses, at reference numeral 10, a plurality ofimbricated taped bags 16 mounted on a spool. Although for the sake ofclarity the bags have been shown in simplified fashion, it should beunderstood that the bags are imbricated, i.e. shingled or in overlyingsequence, in a manner well known in the art, and shown e.g. in U.S. Pat.No. 3,587,843 (Wing), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety,and also seen more clearly in FIG. 4.

[0020] The bags in the chain are preferably substantially identical andare preferably formed in conventional manner from tubular film so thateach bag has a bottom end seal and an open end forming the mouth of thebag. The uppermost bag preferably has its mouth towards the leading endof the chain, as do all bags in the chain, so that the weight ofoverlying bags tends to retain the mouths of the underlying bags closedto prevent debris from entering the bags.

[0021] Side seal bags can also be arranged in imbricated or shingledrelationship.

[0022] At least one thermoplastic tape, and preferably two or morespaced apart and parallel thermoplastic tapes, connect the plurality ofend seal or side seal bags into a chain of bags. Adhesive in the form ofa continuous coating or strip, on the surface of each bag and/or tape incontact with each other, or in the form of discontinuous patches orspots disposed on each bag and/or the portion of the tape or tapes incontact with each bag, functions to create the chain of bags.

[0023] Specifically as indicated in FIG. 1, the roll of bags 10comprises a chain of bags 16 wrapped around a spool 14. The roll of bagscould be made and shipped as is to a costumer, e.g. a meat packager.However, for hygienic reasons, and to protect the integrity of the bagsduring shipment and storage, it is preferred that the roll of bagsitself be placed in a container, such as a thermoplastic pouch or bag,or a paperboard box or container. It is also preferable, for purposes ofdispensing the bags at the customer facility, to mount the roll of bagson side supports 12 a and 12 b.

[0024] The bags are connected by one or more tapes, such as the pair oftapes 18 a and 18 b shown in FIG. 1. These tapes are connected to thebags by a continuous coating or strip, on the surface of each bag and/ortape in contact with each other, or in the form of discontinuous patchesor spots disposed on each bag and/or the portion of the tape or tapes incontact with each bag. Thus, an adhesive strip or coating can be appliedto the underside of the tape (the side to be placed in contact with thebags), or on the bags themselves, or both, in either a continuous ordiscontinuous manner. Any suitable adhesive can be used, such as thetypes of adhesive well known in the art in connection with the use oftaped bags generally. An example of a suitable adhesive is a noncuringpressure sensitive adhesive.

[0025] The tapes can be applied to either the top of the chain of bags,as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or else can be applied to the bottom of thechain of bags.

[0026] The spool should preferably be at least as wide as, and morepreferably somewhat wider than, the width of the chain of bags, in orderto provide optimal support for the bags.

[0027] The side supports, if used, should be at least as wide as, andmore preferably somewhat wider than, the width of the chain of bags, inorder to facilitate the creation of the roll of bags, and removal of thebags at the point of use, without undue restriction in rotationalmovement of the roll.

[0028] The chain of bags can be simply rolled onto the spool in a givenconfiguration, where each wind of the chain is directly on top of theprevious wind. However, because of the presence of the tape or tapes,and the adhesive, this format results in a roll that is bowed out at thelateral midpoint of the roll. To avoid this, and to enhance shippingdensity per spool, the spool (and the side supports if present) can bemade wider than the bag chain, with the bag chain played back and forthacross the transverse width of the spool face while winding, to achievea level wind.

[0029] The extent that adjacent bags in the chain are offset one fromanother can vary depending on a variety of factors, and this is a matterof optimization that will be evident to the skilled artisan.

[0030] The spool 14 and side supports 12 a and 12 b can be made from anysuitable material, including metal, plastic, paperboard or cardboard, orthe like. Spool 14 is shown in FIG. 1 as extending only as far as thedistance between side supports 12 a and 12 b. The ends of spool 14 couldextend beyond the respective outside edges of side supports 12 a and 12b; however, for purposes of packing the roll of bags in a box or similarcontainer, it is convenient to format the size of the various componentsas illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0031] Although spool 14 is preferably circular in cross section, asshown, it can be of any suitable cross sectional shape, such as apolyhedral, star shape, or the like.

[0032]FIG. 2 discloses, at reference numeral 20, a plurality ofimbricated bags mounted on a spool. Thus, FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1,in that the chain of bags 26 corresponds to the chain of bags 16 of FIG.1; the spool 24 corresponds to the spool 14 of FIG. 1; the side supports22 a and 22 b correspond to the side supports 12 a and 12 b of FIG. 1;and the pair of tapes 28 a and 28 b correspond to the pair of tapes 18 aand 18 b shown in FIG. 1. Take-up cassette 29 can optionally be used totake up the tape 18 a and 18 b as the bags are fed forward during apackaging cycle. The cassette includes take-up reels (shown in phantomin FIG. 2), and such cassettes are well known in the art. Cassette 29can be mounted on and between the side supports 22 a and 22 b.Appropriate indentations, holes, slots, etc. can be provided in the sidesupports and the cassette to achieve a snap in fit. The cassette can belike that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,412 (O'Neill), incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. The cassette containing take-upreels can thus be snapped into storage position between the sidesupports. By making the side supports essentially square, there is spaceavailable for the cassette in the corners of the spool above the bagwind level.

[0033] In FIG. 3 there is shown a top view of a shipping container 30for holding the roll of bags. An exterior shell 32, having side members35 and 37, and end members 39 and 41, provides a place to install, alongthe side members 35 and 37, housing members 34 a and 34 b respectively.Side supports 36 a and 36 b correspond generally to side supports 12 aand 12 b of FIG. 1, and can be of any suitable shape, including squareor circular. Spool 38 corresponds to spool 14 of FIG. 1. The exteriorshell 32 is preferably a disposable container such as a cardboard boxhaving a width somewhat greater than the width of the bag chain and adepth sufficient to hold the desired supply of rolled bags. Althoughshown open at the top in FIG. 3, for the sake of illustration, thecontainer is preferably closed at the top (see container top 33 in FIG.5), at least during storage and shipment to protect the enclosed roll ofbags from contamination. Even during dispensing of the bags at acustomer facility, the container can remain generally closed if desired,and the leading end of the chain of bags can be fed through a suitableopening (not shown) at the side of container 30, the leading end of thechain being defined as that end of the chain having the uppermost bag inthe imbricated bag series.

[0034] The housing members 34 a and 34 b are intended to provide supportfor the spool 38. They can be made of any suitable material, includingcardboard, plastic, or metal, and can of any suitable configuration.Thus, they can be simply a semicircular cardboard protrusion thatcradles the spool 38, or can be more complex in format. The onlyrequirement is that they provide a means for supporting the spool 38,and allow the spool to rotate so that the chain of bags (not shown inFIGS. 3 or 5) can be easily dispensed. FIG. 5 is a cut-away side view ofFIG. 3, as viewed along line 5-5 of of FIG. 3. Line 5-5 in FIG. 3 runsthrough the centerline of spool 38. Like reference numerals refer tolike members of FIG. 3. The container is shown with a bottom member 43.

[0035] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4in a cut-away side view, a shipping container 40 for holding a roll ofbags includes an exterior shell 44, having end members 46 and 48, andside member 50. A second side member, forming the fourth wall of thecontainer, is not shown for the sake of clarity.

[0036] Instead of a central spool and side supports, as in the previousembodiments, the rolled chain of bags 52 is simply rolled up and placedin the bottom of container 40. Although the container could have only aconventional flat bottom, it is preferred that a curved bottom member 54be installed above the flat bottom 56. This curved bottom memberfunctions to cradle the rolled chain of bags, providing support duringshipping and storage, and ease in dispensing the bags. A spool 58 canoptionally be used to initially wind the chain of bags, and allowfacilitate initial production of the roll and placement of the roll intothe container 40.

[0037] One advantage of a spool-wound chain of imbricated taped bags isthat it improves feeding the taped bags into automated loading equipmentby being adaptable to tension control mechanisms which will act on thespool and indirectly on the bag chain.

[0038] For most applications, each bag of the roll of bags is preferablya thermoplastic bag, more preferably a thermoplastic heat shrinkablebag, and most preferably a thermoplastic heat shrinkable crosslinkedbag. The bags can optionally have at least one hole therein, asdisclosed e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,706 (McDonald et al.),incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0039] Although the present invention has been described in conjunctionwith preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modificationsand variations may be utilized without departing from the principles andscope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand. Accordingly, such modifications and variations may bepracticed within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A roll of bags comprises: a) a spool having afirst and second end; and b) a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted onthe spool, the chain of bags having first and second lateral sides. 2.The roll of bags of claim 1 wherein the chain of imbricated taped bagsis level wound on the spool.
 3. The roll of bags of claim 1 comprising afirst and second side support disposed at the first and second lateralsides respectively of the chain of imbricated taped bags.
 4. The roll ofbags of claim 1 comprising a first and second side support disposed atthe first and second ends respectively of the spool.
 5. The roll of bagsof claim 4 comprising a cassette take-up reel mounted between the firstand second side supports.
 6. The roll of bags of claim 1 comprising acontainer within which the roll of bags is mounted.
 7. The container ofclaim 6 wherein the container comprises a first and second housing foraccommodating the spool.
 8. The roll of bags of claim 1 wherein each bagis a thermoplastic bag.
 9. The roll of bags of claim 1 wherein each bagis a thermoplastic heat shrinkable bag.
 10. The roll of bags of claim 1wherein each bag is a thermoplastic heat shrinkable crosslinked bag. 11.A roll of bags comprises: a) a container having a curved bottom portion;and b) a chain of imbricated taped bags disposed on the curved bottomportion of the container.
 12. The roll of bags of claim 11 wherein thechain of imbricated taped bags is wrapped around a spool.
 13. The rollof bags of claim 11 wherein each bag is a thermoplastic bag.
 14. Theroll of bags of claim 11 wherein each bag is a thermoplastic heatshrinkable bag.
 15. The roll of bags of claim 11 wherein each bag is athermoplastic heat shrinkable crosslinked bag.
 16. A roll of bagscomprises: a) a spool having a first and second end; and b) a chain ofimbricated taped bags mounted on the spool, the chain of bags havingfirst and second lateral sides, wherein the chain of bags includes i) apair of tapes, and ii) an adhesive, such that each bag is adhesively butreleasably attached to the pair of tapes.
 17. The roll of bags of claim16, wherein the bags each have an open mouth end directed toward aleading end of said chain.
 18. The roll of bags of claim 16 wherein eachbag is a thermoplastic bag.
 19. The roll of bags of claim 16 whereineach bag is a thermoplastic heat shrinkable bag.
 20. The roll of bags ofclaim 16 wherein each bag is a thermoplastic heat shrinkable crosslinkedbag.